The Senate majority leader offered his most enthusiastic remarks about the GOP presidential nominee in months at an event in Kentucky, where McConnell was introduced as the "most powerful Republican in the world."

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"We need a new president, Donald Trump, to be the most powerful Republican in America," McConnell said, according to the Associated Press. "If America votes like Kentucky, we'll be fine,"

McConnell's bullish talk about Trump comes as the Republican nominee pulls ever closer to Hillary Clinton in the polls, a development that increases the chances that Republicans can hold the Senate and McConnell can stay majority leader. Republicans are defending 24 seats, many in blue and purple states, and would lose the Senate to Democrats if Clinton wins and the GOP is ousted from four seats or more.

Remarkably, the last time the disciplined GOP leader commented on Trump was in the wake of the business mogul's most damaging scandal to date. In October, McConnell called Trump's sexually aggressive boasts in a leaked "Access Hollywood" video "repugnant,"

"As the father of three daughters, I strongly believe that Trump needs to apologize directly to women and girls everywhere, and take full responsibility for the utter lack of respect for women shown in his comments on that tape," McConnell said then.

However, he never unendorsed Trump and did not undercut him like House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who told House Republicans he would no longer defend Trump and would focus on down-ballot races.

Instead McConnell has said nothing about Trump, declining to comment on the GOP nominee's refusal at the third presidential debate to commit to recognizing the election results. He told attendees at an event in Kentucky last month to leave if they wanted to hear about Trump. And at his final Capitol Hill news conference before the election McConnell said that he doesn't talk about Trump "because I choose not to."

"To avoid wasting our time here this is not something I’m going to discuss today, the implications of the presidential race on the Senate," McConnell said in September.

Privately McConnell's allies say his reluctance to comment on the presidential race stems from his conference's disparate positions about Trump, from candidates that have campaigned with him like Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to the likes of Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who no longer support Trump's candidacy. Everything McConnell says about Trump would lead to more questions for his vulnerable members, Republican aides say, so his silence insulates them from some Trump talk.